US/ICOMOS ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERS

Samuel N. Stokes, Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee, summarized the activities undertaken during the previous year since the committee was formed. The participatory nature of the process and the strong underlying consensus about the vision of US/ICOMOS were the most striking aspects of the exercise in Mr. Stokes' opinion. The Strategic Planning Committee submitted its recommendations and a record of its meetings and correspondence. While a new Mission and Goals statement had been drafted, the second part of the process, regarding operations and procedures, remained to be established by the new leadership of US/ICOMOS.

Mr. Fowler reviewed the proposed bylaw changes that had been sent to the membership in the December 1994 Newsletter. The previous day, the Board of Trustees debated each proposed change and recommended for action only two: 1) to increase Board membership by 3 persons to a total of 21 trustees; and 2) to adopt new term limits (2 terms for trustees that are not elected to a position as officer, a third term for officers and a maximum fourth term for a trustee elected to the Chair). Both these proposed bylaw changes were adopted by the members as proposed. One amendment that was discussed by the Board was to change the title of the President of US/ICOMOS to Executive Director. This could not be adopted because it was not published with the other proposed bylaw changes and the members had not received 30 days notice. It was decided to announce this proposed change at the earliest possible date.

The report of the Nominating Committee, accepted by the Board of Trustees, was presented by Mr. Fowler. The members voted to elect the recommended slate of officers and trustees. Members of the newly elected Board of Trustees are: Ann Webster Smith (Chair), Robert C. Wilburn (Vice Chair), Roy E. Graham (Secretary), Arlene Fleming (Treasurer), Sarah S. Boasberg, Adele Chatfield-Taylor, William S. Colburn, Henry Hoffstot, John T. Joyce, James P. Kiernan, Norman L. Koonce, R. Randolph Langenbach, Spencer Leineweber, Margaret G.H. Mac Lean, Richard Pieper, Constance W. Ramirez, Peter H. Stott, Michael R. Taylor. Three additional members will be selected by the Board during the current year.

Following the election of the new Board, Mr. Fowler introduced two new Fellows of US/ICOMOS. They are Hugh C. Miller, FAIA, and Elliott Carroll, FAIA.

Mr. Fowler summarized the work of the Selection Committee that had been given the task of searching for the new staff leadership. He then introduced the Committee's choice, Gustavo F. Araoz, AIA, a long-time member of US/ICOMOS (see below). After welcoming Mr. Araoz, the members adopted by acclamation a statement of appreciation on behalf of US/ICOMOS to Terry B. Morton for her years of service to the organization and in recognition of her leadership.

The business concluded, the meeting continued with remarks by the newly elected chairman and an update on international ICOMOS activities by Vice President Elliott Carroll. Loretta Neumann then reviewed the legislative process and discussed the 104th Congress and its impact on international preservation. Following lunch, presentations were made by Blaine Cliver of the National Park Service on the United States and the World Heritage Convention; and by John Stubbs on World Monuments Fund activities. The International Preservation Sampler included presentations by Randolph Langenbach (Current Preservation Concerns in Kashmir, India), John Monroe (Angkor Wat: A Case Study in the Legal Problems of International Cultural Resource Management), John Poppeliers (The UNESCO Conference on the Resettlement and Renovation of Dubrovnik, Croatia) and Joachim Wolschke- Bulmahn (Mughal Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan, and Questions of Preservation). At the end of the afternoon, meetings were held of the specialized committees: cultural tourism, earthen architecture, historic landscapes, historic towns, training, vernacular architecture and wood. The newly elected Board of Trustees held a brief meeting.

WELCOME BY THE NEW CHAIR

All of you, I am sure, join me in thanking the retiring Board members and in hoping that they will stay involved in the cause that we share. Other than John, they are Eric Hertfelder, Bill Chapman, Robert Heyder, Carter Hudgins, Elizabeth Fischer, Robert Peck, Chester Liebs, George Scheffer and Cherilyn Widell. To each of them, many, many thanks! And thanks to our exofficio members for their faithful interest and support. The Nominating Committee aimed for diversity in terms of geography, professional interests and organizational experience, in the hope of achieving a broadly representative Board. I look forward to working with all of them and with you.

It is a great pleasure to welcome Gustavo Araoz as our new CEO. He brings a fresh eye to our challenges. We have a lot to do but we have many resources.

US/ICOMOS has had a busy year. As you have heard, in 1993 a Committee was named to look at US/ICOMOS after its 2 decades of operations and its many accomplishments -- to give us a longer perspective on where the organization had been and where it should or might go in the future. On the basis of their recommendations, a Strategic Planning Committee was established under the patient and thoughtful direction of Sam Stokes and our very able facilitator, Ellen Cull. As a result of the Strategic Planning Committee's deliberations, US/ICOMOS redefined its Mission and Goals. One of the activities of the Strategic Planning Committee was an extremely useful all-day meeting in Boston, held in conjunction with the National Trust meeting, where we talked about programs -- existing programs, new programs, long-range programs and cooperative programs that we might undertake with other organizations. We shall be looking carefully at those program suggestions as we move forward.

Some of the programs that were discussed in Boston are ongoing and US/ICOMOS is doing them well: the International Summer Intern Program comes to mind. But we think that we can do it even better and for this reason we welcome the support of the Smithsonian Institution which will do for US/ICOMOS what it has done for American museums. This year for the first time, we will be able to place young professionals with state and local organizations, both public and private, as US/ICOMOS interns.

Other programs discussed are simply a matter of fine-tuning: publications is one example and we are delighted that Terry Morton has agreed to continue her longtime US/ICOMOS connection by working with us on our publications program.

Some of the programs that were discussed in Boston seem unlikely in the foreseeable future unless US/ICOMOS wins the Readers Digest or some other sweepstakes. But who knows? Daniel Burnham said: "Dream no little dreams, they have no power to stir men's minds." And US/ICOMOS is looking for big dreams to stir the minds of men and women. All of us hope that you will be there to join us in dreaming the dreams and in carrying them out.

Let me tell you about just some of the programs and activities that we would like to engage in for the future.

MEMBERSHIP: US/ICOMOS is one of the largest of the almost 90 National Committees. However, in terms of population -- compared to Australia, for example -- we have a long way to go They have less than 6% of the U.S. population and a committee half as big as ours; Canada has 10% of our population and a committee that approaches ours in size. Admittedly, the competition in the U.S. may be greater, where we have a preservation organization to fit every fancy, but US/ICOMOS hasn't gone as far as it could in terms of trying to attract members of its various natural constituencies. We hope that each and every member of US/ICOMOS will take on membership development as a personal program activity. We know that with membership comes interest and clout with the Congress, clout with foundations, clout with corporations.

SCIENTIFIC OR SPECIALIZED COMMITTEES: In the past our committees have been hit or miss but we hope to change that. We hope that the committees will work to enlist new membership, develop their own programs and make a real contribution to the work of the ICOMOS Scientific Committees which are their counterparts. We hope that many US/ICOMOS members will participate in these committees and give professional and intellectual support to their work.

THE WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION: There are all sorts of programs relating to the World Heritage Convention that are appropriate for US/ICOMOS to undertake as part of its efforts to support U.S. participation in the Convention. Barbara Timken has developed a wonderful curriculum package for middle school classes designed to teach students about World Heritage sites in the U.S. and abroad. Just as "Where is Carmen Sandiego?" is designed to promote geography, this curriculum can create enthusiasm for the world's cultural heritage.

PROFESSIONAL EXCHANGES: Exchanges are an effort that can take many forms. For example, we might build on the summer intern experience to develop a program for exchanging professionals -- practitioners and academics, as well. Some US/ICOMOS members have already lectured in institutions in other countries; some have traveled on expert missions for agencies such as the World Bank or UNESCO. There is a need to put information and expertise into a more accessible form. We need more and better information on U.S. experts who would be interested in speaking or writing beyond our own borders. You may remember that US/ICOMOS members were asked to complete a form summing up their expertise so that they might be called on to engage in foreign missions on preservation projects in other countries. We hope that it will be possible to develop a database that will make it possible to give you a window on a variety of professional activities in this country and abroad that might be available and of interest to you.

PUBLIC POLICY AND ADVOCACY: This is to an extent a new focus for US/ICOMOS. We hope to identify "culture friendly" members of Congress in the hope that they will support US/ICOMOS and its objectives. Is your Congressman on any of the committees that relate to our objectives? Interior? Appropriations? Foreign Relations? International Relations?

Some ICOMOS National Committees consider themselves the guardians of World Heritage sites to protect them from development or other untoward change, much in the way that the National Trust became involved in the Disney theme park proposals. Is this the sort of advocacy effort that should engage the time and talents of US/ICOMOS and its membership?

REGIONAL MEETINGS AND SYMPOSIA: Many ICOMOS National Committees offer an annual symposium on a given topic. Two topics of considerable interest in some quarters are "authenticity" and "monitoring." Nora Mitchell, who is here today, and Chester Liebs, who is still in Japan on as a Fulbright Fellow, were in Japan in November for an international meeting sponsored by the Japanese National Committee of ICOMOS to look at the whole question of authenticity or integrity in historic properties, topics of special pertinence in countries where historic buildings are constructed of less than permanent materials such as wood or earth, and are replaced in whole or in part over the years. Some national committees want to look at this subject on a regional basis. How does US/ICOMOS look at this?

Monitoring is another topic of interest in relation to the World Heritage Convention and properties listed on the World Heritage List. Once a property is listed, who is to check to see if it retains the qualities that made it eligible for listing in the first place? This is a particular problem where locals might not want to point the finger at their own governments for neglecting the properties that have been found to be "of outstanding universal value." In some cases, properties have been put on the list of "World Heritage in Danger," but in others the mechanism for protection beyond listing has yet to be identified.

After California but before Kobe, ICOMOS had developed a growing interest and concern about the problems of emergency preparedness in terms of historic properties. The Dutch government has been active in terms of creating what is called the Blue Shield proposal and UNESCO is interested also. US/ICOMOS took part in a recent meeting on the topic (and reported in your most recent newsletter) and sees this as a program area to be developed.

PARTNERSHIPS -- JOINT EFFORTS: Our interest in many areas of international preservation activity notwithstanding, our resources are limited and we have to make the best use of time and talent. We would like to see US/ICOMOS do more to work with other organizations with related interests. We need to develop programs that offer possibilities for joint action with other organizations -- international, public and private, nonprofit, whatever.

In another direction, we plan to meet soon with the chairman of ICOMOS Canada and perhaps with colleagues from Mexico to look at the possibilities for joint action. We don't have to travel to Sri Lanka or Bulgaria for General Assemblies in order to take part in international preservation programs. There are many international programs and activities to be undertaken closer to home and we hope to identify some that will interest you and your colleagues.

I believe that the new US/ICOMOS Board will be eager to respond to the interests and concerns of the members as it defines program emphasis and program development. As Sam Stokes has told you, the Strategic Planning process will continue. But its success and the success of US/ICOMOS depend on the membership under the leadership of the Board.

As individuals, what can you do? You can tell us where your interests lie. You can tell us which programs you would like to see us emphasize and what new programs you would like to see us develop. You can take part in a specialized committee. You can commit resources, but we are also very interested in your participation and your involvement and we need both.

In the past fundraising has to a large extent been the lonely effort of Terry Morton with the support of a few members of the Board. I hope that your new Board will go along with a proposal I intend to make that we have a Development Committee interested in developing information concerning foundations, corporations, individuals, projects. But I hope that the entire Board, indeed, the entire membership will consider itself a Committee of the Whole when it comes to fundraising. If individual members can't give, they can certainly identify possible funding sources. US/ICOMOS is indebted to all those who make annual contributions beyond their membership fees to US/ICOMOS, the Summer Intern Valentine Appeal and the year-end request. Try to help when and if you can.

We also need volunteers, here in Washington and elsewhere. Think about whether you or someone you know could give a certain number of hours ever week or every month, like Dori Carroll, who just retired, has been doing for the past eight years. US/ICOMOS will miss her, the what she has done for us and her very upbeat presence. If anyone knows one or more Dori Carroll clones, please think about sending them in the direction of US/ICOMOS.

As many of you know, I have had a long association with US/ICOMOS and ICOMOS. Like US/ICOMOS the international organization continues to take giant steps and baby steps. For example, among the giant steps, during the last year, ICOMOS has finally established committees in China and Indonesia and it has intensified its efforts to become established in Africa. It has grown from its largely European beginnings to become a truly international organization.

ICOMOS offers US/ICOMOS and each of us a truly international connection with people and cultures of wide ranging variety. Last week I was thrilled to read the story about the discovery of the 20,000 year old cave paintings in France, images of rhinoceros, wooly mammoths and hyenas. The ICOMOS connection is here: Mr. Jean Clottes, described as France's leading authority on prehistoric wall paintings, is the Chairman of the ICOMOS International Committee on Rock Art. There is more than 20,000 years of cultural heritage out there to recognize and to protect. Through ICOMOS and through colleagues like Mr. Clottes, as well as through our own efforts, US/ICOMOS offers each of us a chance to be part of that effort.
Ann Webster Smith

US/ICOMOS NAMES NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

For more than 20 years, Mr. Araoz has dedicated his professional life to the conservation of the built environment. An architectural graduate of the Catholic University of America, Mr. Araoz completed graduate studies at Georgetown University and the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia in Mexico. He became a member of US/ICOMOS in 1974 and maintains close relations with the other ICOMOS National Committees in this hemisphere.

Mr. Araoz has been involved in preservation activities throughout the United States; in addition, he has traveled abroad extensively where he regularly lectures on preservation issues in the United States. Mr. Araoz is a member of the Historic Resources Committee of the American Institute of Architects and a past chair of its D.C. Chapter Committee. He has served as Treasurer of US/ICOMOS and the D.C. Chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology. He is a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, APOYO (Asociacion para la Conservacion del Patrimonio Cultural de las Americas) and is on the Board of Advisors of the Cuban National Heritage Trust for Historic Preservation. Mr. Araoz also sits on the Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee of the Getty Grant Program.

TO US/ICOMOS MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

NATIONAL CULTURAL TOURISM COMMITTEE REORGANIZED

The Committee invites membership of all people interested in planning, presenting, promoting and preserving cultural sites, museums and places that are visited by travelers. Cultural resources are assets of the tourism industry that has receipts of $3.5 trillion worldwide. The Committee will be a forum to talk about the opportunities and concerns for the cultural tourism industry in the United States and worldwide.

The Committee has begun communication with the planners of the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism scheduled for October 30-31, 1995, in Washington, DC. The Committee will be looking forward to hosting the state and international delegates and communicating the concerns of site owners and managers to all players in tourism organizations. The Committee has begun conversations with the Director of the National Trust's Heritage Tourism Program about its roles in national and international projects. Discussions have begun to identify U.S. historic themes and sites of interest to international visitors. Planning has begun for ICOMOS seminars and internships to be included in cultural tourism training programs offered in the U.S. and abroad.

Please send your name and address if you would like to join the Committee or names of other who should receive the newsletter to: Ellen Delage, Program Officer, US/ICOMOS, or call Tordis (802-442-3204) or Hugh (804-353- 0863) for more information.

CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE 11TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF ICOMOS, SOFIA, BULGARIA, OCTOBER 5-9, 1996

Papers need not take the conventional form of spoken presentation with slide illustrations. Videos, films or any other audio-visual format will be accepted.

The theme of the symposium is "The Heritage and Social Changes." It should not be viewed only from a regional perspective. It is of universal importance that the heritage retain continuity, context and authenticity at a time of social and geopolitical change, to define new hopes and risks for the heritage; the needs and priorities in the sphere of conservation; to highlight the importance of the different historical layers and their relationships; to discover new structures, policies, methods and partners. Like other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, the host of the General Assembly, today is going through a process of radical change arising form democritization and social reform. This change, however, will merely serve as an example within a set of issues of universal significance.

The symposium will be held on four business days and will consist of two plenary sessions, two sessions by sections and two study trips. It is proposed that the sessions by sections should run simultaneously in three streams in three different lecture halls. These three tracks are:

• (a) Ethics and philosophy
• (b) Politics and Economics
• (c) Methodologies and Techniques

1. Development
2. Preservation

The three tracks provide the opportunity to discuss a broad range of topics: philosophical and theoretical issues, for example ethics and authenticity, as well as political issues, such as the kind of organization needed for managing the heritage, and more practical matters like methods of procurement, the use of new technologies both in design and in construction and the need of tax incentives in conservation. It would also be possible to examine certain specific issues such as the relationship between man, the heritage and nature, between the state and the Church, the role of intangible values, of local and inherited cultures, etc. We particularly wish to draw attention to the need for case studies to illustrate the topics.

A list of topics proposed by Mr. Cantacuzino was discussed at the session of the Executive and Advisory Committees at Nara in November 1994. It will be published in this year's first issue of ICOMOS News to provide guidelines to anyone who would like to present a paper.

Finally, when considering your response to the call for papers, we would like you to bear in mind that the Symposium should not only be an occasion for professionals to talk to professionals but also for the client body -- religious organizations, central government, local government, developers and promoters generally, as well as the media and the ordinary citizen -- to be present and to offer their views through papers or in discussion. We look forward to hearing from you.
Prof. Dr. Todor Krestev, Chairman, ICOMOS Bulgaria

MESSAGE TO ICOMOS JAPAN

STREET FURNITURE FOR HANOI?

When an international delegation of architects and planners descended upon Hanoi in late 1994 at the invitation of the People's Committee to study conservation of the ancient city in transition they learned or, should have, how ill-suited Western concepts of conservation can be. Hanoi is a city where the lack of basic sanitation facilities in most of the existing housing stock and extreme over-population where as many as 15 families share a house designed to accommodate one family have rendered much of the original building stock unsuitable to sustain growth as the Vietnam economy skips from communism to capitalism. The problem is compounded by the reality that the communist government, even one having married capitalism, requires a consensus to act so that long-term strategies and short-term solutions alike are held in abeyance while the wrong kind of development goes unchecked. Senator Bob Kerry was in town the following week with the force behind the redevelopment of Boston, Inc. But who will provide the answers? And will it be too late?

Even if a consensus is reached quickly, the People's Committee, it seems, must come to grips with the most basic of conservation questions, one hardly yet understood or answered in most developing countries: can the existing housing stock be brought up to modern standards without the wholesale destruction of original fabric and with it irretrievable loss of the cultural landscape of the medieval city which makes Hanoi so unique. And here's the rub. There is an estimated 8 billion tourism dollars willing to come to Vietnam to see in the 36 Pho Phongs or ancient streets, a pattern of living dating from the 15th century, so a lot of soul- searching must be done before finding a balance between conservation and redevelopment. This attraction will be lost if the guilds find they prefer condominiums and open spaces for their children to play, rather than continue their way of life of bathing and cooking on the streets because the housing behind the charming commercial façades lacks these facilities.

The Vietnamese government realizes this risk and understands that the potential tourist will spend more time and more dollars in the old quarter if its medieval charm is retained. Officials are making overtures to UNESCO to list the ancient quarter as a World Heritage Site. Another site of natural interest was designated just last month at Hylong Bay. If the old quarter becomes a heritage site, where would the toilets then go? Out on the street? No one seems to have answered the fundamental question how much modernization the ancient quarter can sustain and still qualify as a World Heritage Site -- the first question, it seems, to any serious conservation strategy.

The complexity the communist political situation overlays was underscored during the symposium as various plans were discussed. Chief among them are the City's architecture master plan which addresses the old quarter. Implementation will require a consensus vote from the committee, which can take a long time, as anyone with any experience in doing business in Vietnam has soon experienced. While a consensus vote is debated, the lack of suitable planning controls and enforcement has encouraged cowboy developers to act fast. It is not uncommon to see demolition one night and the new foundations for a mini-hotel, a concept hardly in keeping with the character of the ancient quarter, the next morning. Penalties and fines when imposed at all are weak and nothing more than a way of doing business in an environment where the estimated return on the initial capital investment can occur within the mini-hotel's first year of operation. With rates of return like these, who needs a master plan?

A pilot plan proposed by a private Vietnamese architect, Dr. Trong, has permission from the People's Committee. The pilot plan relies on a complement of private and some aid funding for the venture to be pulled together, a not so certain prospect. Even if the funding, an estimated 12 million US dollars, were forthcoming, communist investment laws require the venture to have a state enterprise partner, a mind-boggling bureaucracy to negotiate.

The number of local plans is rivaled by a greater number of international consultants generally funded by home governments with an aim toward long- term contracts. Each has his own ideas.

Seda, the Swedish aid group, the Australians and Senator Kerry from the United States have descended upon Hanoi bringing expertise in exchange for a slice of the pie when something does happen. In the meantime, there are also the academic studies, one of which suggests the introduction of street furniture into the ancient quarter. While this might be a good idea to improve the civic image of a city like Leeds (although even that project's success has been debated) by British conservationists, street furniture for Hanoi seems like a non-starter in the ancient quarter, where the street serves as kitchen, bathroom and general living space, as well as an extension of shop space for retail. In essence, the merchants and the residents and their businesses are the street furniture. To suggest bicycle racks and benches around the trees the way it might be done in Leeds underscores why western-trained conservation professionals will not have all the answers to Hanoi's conservation challenge.
Lisa Foster, Esq.

FELLOWSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT

PUBLICATIONS

Jardins et Sites Historiques, published by the International Committee of Historic Gardens and Sites ICOMOS-IFLA, Madrid, 1993. The volume is a compilation of papers presented at conferences of the Committee since the first congress at Fontainebleau in 1971 until the Potsdam meeting in 1989. It includes papers that are the most representative of the conferences, and proceedings that had never been printed or are out of print. The texts are published in the original language (English, French, Spanish and Italian). 377 pp., illustrations, softbound. Available from US/ICOMOS for $15 (members) or $35 (nonmembers) shipping and handling.

CALENDAR

• April 27-28, 1995. Timber in Architecture, a symposium organized by the Turkish National Wood Committee, in Istanbul, Turkey. Papers will be presented in three sessions (timber as a construction material, timber structures and case studies of restorations) followed by a panel discussion. For information or to register: Emine Erdogmus, Chairman, Turkish Wood Committee, tel: 90-212-236-1077; fax: 90-212-259-1100.

   

• June 6-10, 1995 Ethics in Conservation: The Dilemmas Posed, 23rd Annual Conference, American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC), in St. Paul, Minnesota. The conference will address ethical issues confronting conservators, including treating stolen art, the dilemma of refusing looted art, problems faced at foreign sites, the display of fragile artifacts and constitutional issues and the conservator. For information: AIC, 1717 K Street, NW, Suite 301, Washington, DC 20006, tel: 202-452- 9545, fax: 202-452-9328.

   

• June 12-17, 1995. Conservation Training -- Needs and Ethics, organized by the ICOMOS International Committee on Training, hosted by the Finnish National Committee of ICOMOS, to be held at the island fortress of Suomenlinna, a World Heritage Site in Helsinki, Finland. It will include the plenary meeting of the ICOMOS International Training Committee. The seminar will focus on present needs in conservation training, on conservation ethics and on guidelines for future action. The seminar and Training Committee meeting will be conducted in English. For information: ICOMOS-CIF, Training Committee Meeting 1995, Ms. Anu Ahoniemi, SLHK Suomenlinna C40, FIN- 00190 Helsinki, Finland, tel: 358-0-228.231, fax: 358-0-22823.280.

   

• September 25-29, 1995. Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage: Stone Materials, Air Pollution, Murals -- Scientific Research Work and Case Studies, organized by the Laboratoire de Conservation de la Pierre, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. The three subject areas are those that have formed the core of the laboratory's research for the past 20 years. The congress is intended for scientific researchers in the field of conservation: chemists, physicists, geologists and engineers. Conference conducted in English and French with simultaneous translation. For information: EPFL-DMX-LCP, 1995 LCP Congress, Renato Pancella and Michèle Citti, MX-G Ecublens, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland, tel: 41-21-693.4876, fax: 41-21- 693.4878.

   

• October 6-7, 1995. Annual Meeting of the ICOMOS International Committee on Cultural Tourism, hosted by the Greek National Committee of ICOMOS, in Athens, Greece. Details will be announced when they are available.